


A wizard's exams tale

by bokutoppai



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi has two moms, Akaashi is a gay whipped wizard, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Anxiety, I swear it's not angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22035706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokutoppai/pseuds/bokutoppai
Summary: Akaashi is struggling with wizardry, but he refuses to get a tutor.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 42
Collections: Secret Santa Haikyuu 2019





	A wizard's exams tale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vwritesaus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vwritesaus/gifts).



> hi v! i am your secret santa for #SecretSantaHaikyuu2019!  
> i'm so sorry for the delay!  
> anyway, happy holidays. and may your 2020 be full of opportunities and happiness, happy new year!  
> i hope you enjoy~

The sound of fingers tapping on the wooden table echoed in the almost empty school library. Many students were busy with their own clubs, others were studying on their own (especially werewolves, who don’t like to be among many people), vampires couldn’t go because of the Sun, others didn't even care that much.

Akaashi was losing his mind. He had read and reread all the spells that would be on his wizardry exam, but he still couldn't cast them correctly. He was doing everything properly, so what was wrong? Why didn’t he get positive results?  
He sighed silently. Maybe his face didn't show it, but he was _really_ stressed.  
If he didn't learn them by the end of the month, he would fail wizardry class, he couldn’t afford failure. 

_He would be a disappointment to his family. Only a fool would fail._

Keiji’s family didn’t really put much pressure on him, but he always crossed the limits. In his own mind _he_ had to keep his family reputation high, and to do that he shouldn’t fail. 

_He shouldn’t even get a tutor. If others knew, they would think was an idiot, unworthy of being an Akaashi.  
_ _All of them were strong wizards and witches, so if he failed, would he still be worthy of being considered a part of the family?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound and a muffled, celebratory scream.  
Akaashi finally raised his head from the several open books, and he looked towards the direction where the sound came from. He let curiosity lead the way, so he got up to check the source of that noise.  
Behind a shelf there was a boy, he seemed to be around his age, maybe a year or two older than him. He had a semi-transparent great horned-owl on his arm. He beamed at it, before it could disappear. 

Akaashi looked at him silently and secretly amused. The owl looked like the boy because of the latter’s spiky white-grey hair with black streaks, and he thought it was sort of funny.  
Then it hit him: that was one of the spells he had to learn. It consisted in making appear a familiar completely fabricated and supported by magic. It was possible to cast it on an already existing animal, controlling it and giving it magical powers.  
That was the easier and less power-consuming way, and yet this guy tried to do it. He kind of admired him for having the courage to try, meanwhile... _he couldn’t even do that spell on an existing animal_.

Then the “Nameless Boy” whispered something. It was a foreign language, with very ancient roots, that only witches and wizards know in modern age just to recite incantations.  
The owl appeared again, and this time it wasn’t possible to see through it.  
Akaashi’s eyes widened in astonishment. Now _that_ was something really admirable: such a hard spell was casted perfectly, he witnessed an improvement happened in a span of five seconds, of course he’d be amazed.

The “Nameless Boy” smiled, then he made the owl disappear. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and exited the library, without noticing Akaashi following him with his gaze until he was out of sight.

Keiji’s admiration grew. He thought that boy was extraordinary. A _Star Wizard_ .  
Akaashi assumed he was seventeen or eighteen years old, and the fact that someone so young could use magic so wonderfully amazed him.

He stood there for a few minutes, then he went back to the desk where he left the books and his notes.  
Since the library was about to close, he put the books at their place, packed up his things, and left, with the Star Wizard still in his mind.  
He didn't notice that at the time, but there was a delicate smile on his face, which quickly faded away, but he still was happy and couldn't understand why.

A few days later, the Star Wizard was still in his mind. That scene couldn't stop replaying in his head, it was stuck in it and Keiji didn't seem to dislike it.

-

Some time later, when he had just arrived to school, his teacher called him to talk about his academic records.  
Keiji had a terrible feeling about it, he started feeling anxious. During his way to the office she was waiting in, his negative thoughts only increased. 

_What if it was because he was struggling with incantations? Was it over for him?  
_ _Was he going to be kicked out of the school because he was not good enough? That would harm the family’s reputation.  
_ _Someone as useless as him wasn't necessary in the family._

He tried to suppress his thoughts, but he couldn’t seem to succeed.

Then he arrived. He stood there paralyzed from the fear. He didn’t want to get in, if he did it would be really over.  
When the teacher appeared in front of him, after opening the door, he flinched.  
Takeuchi-sensei gently smiled when she saw him «Akaashi-san, you’re here. Please, come in, I have to talk with you about something. Don’t be afraid, you’re not in trouble.»  
That certainly didn’t calm Keiji very much, but it was still a little better than before.

He walked in, and sat down on the chair in front of his teacher’s desk «So, the reason why I called you here is that I noticed you struggling a bit in wizardry, and I would like to propose you something.»   
Just as he had feared, she talked about his recent struggles in wizardry.  
She didn't sound angry. Luckily, Takeuchi-sensei was a sweet, understanding teacher, she would try to help a student, and not humiliate them.  
Her gentle voice didn't calm Akaashi down though. Not even a bit.  
Now he felt even worse than before.

_Now it really was over._

«...shi-s...» 

_Takeuchi-sensei had noticed his struggles. She would consider him a failure._

«...k...an?»

_Maybe she was just hiding her anger.  
_ _Maybe she was really disappointed and would make sure his family knew he was worthless._

«Akaashi-san?»

Keiji flinched.  
«Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you.»  
Despite the difficulties, this time he tried to listen carefully to what his teacher had to say   
«As I was saying, I wanted to propose you to get a tutor. If you don't want to look by yourself, then I myself will assign you a tutor, who is one of the best students here, and a very nice person, so you don't have to be afraid of them!»  
Keiji looked unsure, and he just stared at the woman in front of him, who smiled at him «Akaashi-san, I understand that you're afraid to ruin your family's reputation, but I can assure you that's better to get some help rather than struggling alone. In that way you can't obtain anything, there's nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help. Besides, this is about yourself and your life, you should put your family aside and do what's better for **you** .» Takauchi stood up and put her hands on Akaashi's shoulders «Lastly, I know you are an intelligent student, Akaashi-san. The fact that you're struggling right now doesn't make you stupid. Everyone can feel this way, and I don't blame you, but let me say that I believe in you. And I'm sure that your family is proud of you too.»  
Keiji felt himself calming down slightly.  
Those thoughts about damaging the family reputation didn't leave his mind yet, but he was feeling better than before.

He half-heartedly agreed to his teacher's proposal.

She smiled and told him that his tutor would be waiting in the study room, and that she would take care of informing them.

Immediately after classes, Akaashi began walking to the room his teacher indicated. He was going at a slow pace, both because a part of him didn’t want to go, and also because the meeting was scheduled for 4:00pm, and it was only 3:15pm, so he had plenty of time. When he arrived at his destination, it was 3:30pm: he had arrived there half an hour before.

Keiji looked calm, but he wasn't at all: despite his teacher's words, he was still afraid to ruin his family's good name by looking stupid.  
He took a deep breath and stood in front of the door of the reserved study room.

Only the best students had access to that room, so they could practice and cast their spells, or they could just study. It was just for them, since there was more material, and books that were too difficult to understand for average students.

Takeuchi-sensei made sure to reserve that room only for Akaashi and his tutor, to make them study peacefully, at least for that day, just to let them meet and get comfortable enough around each other to study at their own homes, or at a cafe, or just simply in the school library.

When he was calmer (not much calmer, but still a little better than before), he entered the room and he wasn't surprised to find out his tutor wasn't there yet. After all, he got there much earlier.  
That meant he had to wait until his tutor arrived. And that meant being anxious, again, until they arrived.

Akaashi needed something, anything, to distract himself.  
He sat down at the table at the center of the room and started fidgeting with random things he found.  
Time passed, and Akaashi couldn't calm down much.  
He was about to get up to check if his tutor was arriving, even though it was 3:50pm, when someone stormed into the room.  
Keiji felt his heart almost bursting out of his chest because of the sudden noise.

«HEY HEY HEY! YOU ARE AKASHI KEIJI, RIGHT?» a loud voice almost perforated his ears.  
Keiji answer in a calm voice «It's Akaashi, but yes, I think you got the right pers-» he looked up at the new arrived and froze when he realized who it was.  
«Alright, I'm sorry! Anyway, I'm Bokuto Koutarou! I'll be your tutor from now on.» the boy smiled at him.

Akaashi couldn't believe his own eyes. The Star Wizard was going to be his tutor? Did he fall asleep while he was waiting?  
For a moment he forgot about everything and was thankful to be working with him.  
«Oh… alright.»  
Bokuto let out an offended sound «Why do you sound so unenthusiastic?»  
«Uh...» Keiji awkwardly stood there in silence.  
«Anyway, Akashi-»  
«It's Akaashi.» he corrected him.  
«-Shall we start?»

The younger boy nodded, then Bokuto rushed by his side and sat down next to him.  
He couldn't believe it. One of the best students, the Star, was sitting next to him and he had the chance to learn from him. If he was sleeping and dreaming it all, he wished to not wake up.  
But this was reality, he really was next to him.  
«So, what are you struggling with?» he asked with a little more serious tone, but he still sounded enthusiastic.

Akaashi looked away, ashamed of his inability to get things done «I can remember the magic formulas, however, when I try to cast an incantation, the result is never positive.»   
Bokuto stayed silent for a few seconds «Try to cast a spell right now! I want to see!» then he looked at the window «...wait here.»  
Koutarou stood up and walked towards the window, opening it and leaned out. Keiji was thankful of being on the first floor, or he could really die.

«Pspspsps… hey, come here!» after a while he pulled in a small cat, he held it in his arms as it purred and snuggled in his chest. Akaashi thought it was cute, but he was confused.   
«This cat basically lives here, so it wasn’t surprising to find her here again. You could try to cast a spell on her and try to make her a familiar! I’m pretty sure she won’t be harmed, so you don’t worry about it!»  
«Are you sure she won’t get hurt...?» he looked at the cat concerned, then he saw Bokuto nodding.  
«Yes, don’t worry!» he placed the cat on the table, she curled up and just close her eyes.  
If she acted like that, it could only mean Bokuto obtained her trust… or just that she was a really naive cat.

«Try!» Bokuto gestured the cat.  
Keiji took a deep breath and prepared himself mentally, then he tried to cast the spell...  
...but the cat glowed for five mere seconds, then nothing happened.   
He was feeling hopeless at that point. He showed his uselessness in front of a Star, now he would never see him as someone worthy of his time.

«Oh, it didn't work. Try again!» Bokuto encouraged him.  
Keiji made another attempt, but nothing happened.  
«Weird... you said the magic formula correctly...» the Star began thinking what was wrong.  
Akaashi was being eaten by his own insecurities. He found it difficult to breathe.

_He failed. He failed again._

Koutarou seemed to sense his discomfort, and he put a hand on his shoulder «Listen Akaashi (oh, this time I pronounced it well!), even if you didn't make it now, don't bring yourself down like this! No wait, actually it's not my place to say that since I'm the first one to sulk when I make a mistake, BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT.» he cleared his throat, Akaashi listened carefully to his words. It was weird how it seemed easier to listen to his voice.  
«As I was saying, you can do it! I heard a lot about you, and I can assure you that they were talking positively about you! I know you can do it, I trust your abilities.» he lifted his hand from Keiji's shoulder, and walked towards a shelf.  
«Besides, I saw how mature you are, so I'm sure you'll succeed. No spell is impossible. It might be hard to cast them, and sometimes you'll need more time. But remember that it's just hard, not impossible.» he took a pair of books, then he put them on the table.  
«For now, we'll study magic formulas without actually casting spells. One step at a time.»

Bokuto's reassuring smile made his heart flutter. He nodded, and let him select the first things to study.  
The black-haired boy was about to say something, when he felt something warm rubbing on his hand: it was the cat, who just woke up from her nap.  
«She wants you to pet her! Do it while we study, it's relaxing.»  
Akaashi rubbed under her chin as she began to purr, then he looked back at Bokuto, who smiled, then turned to the books.  
He began to explain some incantations, making Keiji repeat the magic formulas and then explaining what their use was.

They continued until they were interrupted by a teacher, who announced that the school was about to close, so they should put everything at its place and pack up their own things.

The two decided that it would be better to exchange phone numbers, so they could set up another tutoring meeting, then they said goodbye to each other and went home.

Once he arrived home, Keiji let his mothers know he was there by announcing it.  
His moms, Yumeko and Kurumi, were setting up the last things for dinner.  
Yumeko turned to her son «Your teacher called me. So, in the end you got a tutor?» she smiled «I'm happy you decide to leave behind your insecurities!»  
Kurumi smiled and nodded silently, then she went back to prepare the dishes. She didn't talk much, and if she did, it was just a short sentence.  
The boy scratched his head sheepishly.  
«So, are they nice?» Yumeko asked.  
Akaashi sat at the table, and after a few seconds he answered «Yes, he's nice… I'm glad I got the chance to study with a Star Wizard.»  
His mothers' eyes widened, as they looked at each other in the eyes. Kurumi smiled softly, while Yumeko grinned and looked at her son silently. The latter gave them a questioning look «Why are you staring at me...?»  
«Nothing, nothing~ Now let's eat, Keiji. The dinner is ready!» Yumeko and Kurumi got the dishes of yakimeshi and put them on the table.  
The dinner was pleasingly silent, except for Yumeko's occasional giggles when she looked at him.

Days went by. Bokuto and Akaashi studied more and more magic formulas.  
After a few meetings, since they quickly grew comfortable around each other, they started meeting whenever they could at school. They also decided to hang out sometimes, even though they were always accompanied by some of their friends. Then they decided to study at each other's homes.

In those days they learned a lot about each other. For example, Bokuto wasn't as serious as Akaashi initially thought. He was a dork. A reckless dork. Keiji had to call him out many times, so neither he nor anyone else would get hurt. Then he found out about his famous emo mode: every time Bokuto makes a lot of mistakes, he starts making more and more, then he goes to a corner to sulk until he’s okay again.  
Besides, he found out about how math was his weakest subject. Saying that Akaashi was surprised would be an understatement. 

Bokuto Koutarou was way too far from perfection... and yet all these things made him shine brighter in Keiji’s eyes.  
He admired Bokuto. He admired his weaknesses, and he even made a list of them. He admired his strengths. How determined he could get. How he was capable to read someone’s feelings and say something inspirational to cheer them up if they were sad, anxious, or angry.  
Bokuto was a star. Not only as a wizard, but as a person. His existence alone made the world brighter.

-

One day, they were at Bokuto's house, in his living room.  
Akaashi always had a question in his mind, but he hadn't asked until that day.  
During their break, he finally decided to ask it.  
«Since you are one of the best students in wizardry, you have access to the reserved study room every time, right?»  
Bokuto smiled and nodded «Yeah, right!»  
«Then… why were you practicing that spell in the library that day?»  
Koutarou froze, and looked away embarrassed «Uh well, basically…» he was unsure of his own words «I was there with Kuroo, a friend of mine, and we were kind of messing around.»  
Akaashi nodded «And…?»  
«So I wanted to prank him, and I decided to cast a spell against him- IT'S NOTHING LETHAL, I SWEAR! I'm not a bad person!» he held up his hands in order to seem more innocent, he cleared his throat and continued «So, I decided to cast this spell on him and… made him go bald.»

Keiji's eyes widened, "Okay, that actually seems fun" he gestured him to continue the story.  
«The incantation lasts just for an hour, but Kuroo got angry at me.» he remained silent for a few seconds before continuing «So he tried to cast the same spell on me, but he made a mistake and he made a teacher go bald. Of course she was enraged, so she banned the both of us for a few days and we also got detention. But I wanted to practice a new incantation, so I sneaked out and went to the library. I tried it until it was successful, and went away when I got it right before getting caught by a teacher.»

That's when Keiji couldn't stay silent anymore, and began laughing wholeheartedly. He clutched at his stomach, and tears formed in his eyes.  
At the beginning, Bokuto felt humiliated and offended, but then he looked at the black-haired boy and he felt his cheeks warming up. Seeing a person as calm and apathetic as him laughing like that gave him a weird feeling in his stomach, especially because Akaashi (there was no reason to deny it) was extremely pretty himself, and that laughter somehow made him prettier to his eyes.

Then something clicked in his mind: he was falling for Keiji. And he was falling _hard_ for him.

Bokuto tried to say something, but for the first time in a while he was speechless.   
He turned away hoping his face would return to a natural color before Keiji could notice his blush.

Luckily, his face cooled down quickly.  
Since Bokuto was good at acting, he could pretend everything was okay, when internally he was freaking out.  
To distract himself from his internal panic, he proposed to Akaashi to try casting a spell.  
«Are you sure about it?» he looked at the older boy «Which spell?»

Koutarou smirked «Why don’t you try the one you saw me practicing in the library?»  
Keiji raised his eyebrows, surprised by the request «Without… an already existent animal?»  
«Of course! You shouldn’t do easy things, do what’s funny! Think about the satisfaction you’ll feel once you casted the incantation correctly.»

Keiji took a deep breath and prepared himself mentally. He thought it was so weird that he was so much calmer unlike other times. He tried to cast that spell… but nothing happened. This time, instead of bringing himself down, he felt more determined.

He tried a second time... nothing.  
The third time... nothing.  
The fourth time he noticed a small movement. Like a small silhouette that flashed in his eyes in less than a second.  
He tried the fifth time, and an amur falcon appeared on the table. It glowed for like six seconds, then it disappeared.

He tried one more time… and he succeeded. In front of him there was a falcon. It was opaque, it wasn’t possible to see through it. It moved and acted like a normal bird, except it didn’t seem startled by Akaashi’s presence.  
He did it. And he did it in the best way possible. He was speechless.

«AKAASHI! YOU DID IT!» the falcon was startled by the sudden noise, and it flew near Akaashi, and he stood there in a defensive posture.  
«Oops. But, hey! It’s protecting you! That means you did great.» Koutarou quietly made his way to Akaashi. The falcon tried to attack him, making him flinch, but Keiji held it back.

«In a few days there will be exams, huh? Time flew quickly.» he said rather quietly. He then looked at the younger boy and he smiled «I’ll help you whenever you want! For now, I’ll help you practicing other spells, so you can decide at the practical exam which one to show.»   
Akaashi petted the falcon before making it disappear «Yes, let’s do like that.»

Keiji looked at his watch and noticed how late it was, so he said goodbye to Bokuto and went home, where he told his mothers about his success. Kurumi quietly hugged him smiling, while Yumeko showered him with compliments.

As the exams days came closer, Bokuto and Akaashi continued to study and practice together.  
Keiji had to make sure his tutor didn't neglect his own study, and made him practice his own spells for the exams.

-

The examination day came and Akaashi was nervous, but the fact that Bokuto was supporting him from afar made him extremely happy.

The teachers were fast to calculate the results, so in two or three days he would get them.

He repeated the magic formulas over and over again until he was called to the examination room. He was nervous. But he still felt better compared to before meeting Bokuto and succeeding.

Akaashi took a deep breath «You can do it, Keiji.» he said to himself. He got up and walked into the examination room, prepared to pass the exam.

-

Akaashi was shocked. He stared at the paper sheet where his score was marked. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he read that right.

_He did_ **_that_ ** _? That was his score? And he was..._

«HEY HEY HEY! AKAASHI, HOW DID IT GOooo...?» Bokuto just arrived, but he immediately noticed Akaashi's slightly shocked expression. For a moment he thought he failed, but then he turned to him and showed his paper.  
Koutarou read it and his eyes widened «YOU MADE IT IN THE TOP 5?! WOAH! AKAASHI, YOU'RE GREAT!» then he began looking for something in his school bag «I just made it in the top 10, but I think that's great too. I'll do my best for the next year, since I'll be in my third year!»  
«You'll surely do it.» Akaashi smiled at him and Bokuto felt his heart skipping a beat at his cuteness.

Koutarou decided this was the right moment «I'll walk with you, we go on the same way until a certain point.»   
They began walking. Bokuto started fidgeting with his hands. He was nervous, but he promised to himself to do it if the both of them got good marks.  
«Uhm... hey, Akaashi. Would you like to uuh... go...» Keiji looked at him, curious. It wasn’t like Bokuto to be that nervous. Of course he had been in his emo mode several times, but never nervous like that.  
«Would you like to go on a d- o--out with me?»  
Akaashi didn’t completely understand what Bokuto meant, so he just nodded and gave a positive answer without paying much attention. He didn't, however, understand the motivation of such nervousness.

Koutarou realized that he misunderstood his intentions «I mens- UGH, I mean, as a date! Not out like “senpai” and “kouhai” or friends!»  
Akaashi froze in mid-way. _Was he serious?_ He looked at Bokuto in the eyes. This time, Keiji was visibly surprised.  
«Fo-FORGET I SAID ANYTHING, HAHAHAH. DON'T MIND THAT.» he tried to speed up and escape, but the black-haired boy grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

Bokuto turned to him, but he didn't look directly in his eyes.  
«I... would really like that, Bokuto-san.» there was a delicate blush on his cheeks. Akaashi asked himself how could he be oblivious of his own feelings until that moment.  
Bokuto's face warmed up. He grinned joyously «Great! I'll text you later then. See ya, Akaashi!»

He went in another way, leaving Akaashi alone, trying to process what just happened.

_He had a date._

_He had a date with his Star._

**Author's Note:**

> ngl i was quite tempted to title the story "gay whipped wizard keiji".  
> also, i'm bad at titles, but i think you noticed that.


End file.
